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LONGFELLOW     STATUE 


POKTLAND,     MaIXE. 


M^ongfclloto  Statue  Association 


EXERCISES 


UNVEILING   OF   THE    STATUE 


Henry  Wadsworth  Longfellow 


PORTLAND,     MAINE 


SEPT.  29, 1888 


POUTLAND 
BROWN    THURSTON    «fc    COMPANY 

1888 


/- 


OFFICERS   1888. 


rKESIUENT. 

CIIAKLE8  F.  LIBBY. 

VKK-l'UESlDENTS. 

James  W.  Braukury,  Fred.  Roiue, 

Wm.  D'W.  Hyde,  W.  F.  Miluken, 

CiiAS.  J.  Chapman,  H.  A.  Neely, 

II.  N.  Jose,  W.  II.  Fenn. 

SECRETARY, 

THOMAS   TAHIl. 

TREASURER. 

PHILIP   HENRY   BROWN. 

executive   committee. 
Geo.  F.  Talbot,  H.  W.  Richardson, 

H.  S.  Burrage,  J.  E.  DeWitt, 

C.  D.  Brown. 

committee    of    ways    and    MEANS. 

S.  W.  Thaxter,  Mrs.  R.  J.  Carpenter, 

Lewis  Pierce,  Mrs.  Marcia  B.  Jordan, 

Albro  E.  Chase,  Mrs.  C.  J.  Chapman, 

Geo.  8.  Hunt,  Miss  Mary  McCobb, 

F.  K.  Savan,  Mrs.  R.  H.  Brown, 

F.  H.  Gerrish,  Mrs.  J.  H.  McMullan, 

W.  W.  Thomas,  jr.,  Mrs.  E.  Cavazza, 
Mrs.  W.  F,  Milliken. 

committee  on  plans. 
J.  W.  Symonds,  J.  P.  Baxter, 

H.  B.  Brown,  F.  H.  Fassett, 

E.  H.  Elwell. 


Contents  oF  c()])i)c'r  l)ox,  prepared  by  H.  W.  Bryant, 
licriiK'lically  sealed,  and  placed  under  the  pedestal. 

I'ortl.iiKl  Directory,  1888,  by  B.  Thurston  &  Co. 

I'ortlaiKl  Daily  Press,  Aug.  27,  1888. 

Portland  Sunday  Times,  Aug.  26,  1888. 

I'ortland  Sunday  Telegram,  Aug.  26,  1888. 

Portland  Daily  Advertiser,  Aug.  25,  1888. 

Portland  Evening  Express,  Aug.  2.'^,  1888. 

Zion's  Advocate,  Aug.  22,  1888. 

Poi-tland  Argus,  Aug.  27,  1888. 

i^ortland  Globe,  Aug.  25,  1888. 

Tninscript  Montldy,  Aug.,  1888. 

Portland  Transcript,  Aug.  22,  1888. 

Christian  Mirror,  Aug.  25,  1888. 

The  Original  Drawing  of  the  Pedestal,  by  F.  H.  Fassett. 

Card  of  Fassett  &  Tompson. 

Card  of  Charles  L.  Wilson. 

Card  of  Ilawkes  Brothers. 

Card  of  William  H.  Scott. 

Card  of  Franklin  Simmons. 

Card  and  Blanks  of  J.  B.  Brown  &  Sons. 

Card  of  H.  W.  Bryant. 

Officers  and  Committees  of  City  Government. 

Register  of  Subscribers  to  the  Longfellow  Statue  Association. 

Certificates  of  Membership  of  the  Longfellow  Statue  Association. 

Circulars  of  the  Longfellow  Statue  Association. 

List  of  Names  of  the  School  Children  contributing  to  the  Long- 
fellow Statue  Association  Fund,  throughout  New  England 
and  the  Middle  States. 


LONCxFF^LLOW      STATUE     ASSOCIATION. 


HISTORY   OF   THE    FUND. 

The  seventy-fifth  birthday  of  Henry  Wjidsworth 
Longfellow  was  observ^ed  by  the  Maine  Historical  Soci- 
ety in  Reception  Hall,  City  Building,  Portland,  Febru- 
ary 27, 1882.  On  the  24th  of  March  following,  the  poet 
died  at  his  home  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts.  The 
o-entlemen  who  had  interested  themselves  in  the  celebra- 
tion  of  Mr.  Longfellow's  seventy-fifth  birthday  not 
low-r  after  suQ*o;ested  the  erection  in  Portland  of  a  me- 
morial  of  the  city's  illustrious  son,  and  on  the  2()th  of 
May,  1882,  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  Aldermen's  room, 
City  Building,  to  consider  the  advisability  of  attempt- 
ini»:  to  secure  a  bronze  statue  which  should  be  an  lionor 
to  the  memory  of  the  poet  and  an  ornament  to  the 
city.  Hon.  Israel  Washburn,  jr.,  was  the  chairman  of 
the  meeting,  and  Rev.  H.  S.  Burrage,  D.n.,  was  secre- 
tary. Among  those  present  at  the  meeting  were  Hon. 
J;  W.  Symonds,  Hon.  C.  F.  Libby,  Hon.  George  F.  Em- 
ery, Supt.  Thomas  Tasli,  Edmund  S.  Hoyt  and  others. 
A  committee,  consisting  of  Hon.  George  F.  Talbot,  Hon. 


Q  LONGFELLOW  STATUE  ASSOCTATIOM. 

Israel  Washbui-n,  ji-.,  J.  P.  Baxter,  Esq.,  and  Rev.  H. 
8.  Barrage,  d.d.,  was  appointed  to  take  the  matter 
into  consideration  and  report  at  a  future  meeting. 

At  a  meeting  held  June  10th,  ii  favorable  report  was 
made  with  regard  to  the  undertaking.  It  was  the 
opinion  of  all  present  that  the  money  should  be  raised 
by  subscription;  not  in  large  sums,  Init  by  small  con- 
tributions, giving  a  large  number  of  people  an  oppor- 
tunity to  aid  in  the  work.  It  was  voted  that  an  asso- 
ciation be  formed  for  the  purpose,  and  the  same  com- 
mittee was  requested  to  form  a  plan  of  organization 
and  draw  up  a  constitution. 

One  week  later  another  meeting  was  held,  and  the 
constitution  submitted  by  the  committee  was  adopted. 
It  was  voted  to  obtain  by  solicitation  the  requisite 
number  of  names  for  the  organization  of  the  associa- 
tion, and  then  call  another  meeting  for  permanent  or- 
ganization. 

July  8,  1882,  a  meeting  was  held  for  organization, 
and  the  following  officers  were  elected :  — 

President — Hon.  Charles  F.  Libby. 
Secretary — Thomas  Task. 
Treasurer — Philip  H.  Brown. 

At  a  subsequent  meeting  vice-presidents  and  stand- 
ing committees  were  chosen  as  follows  :  — 

Vice-presidents — James  W.  Bradbury,  Samuel  H.  Blake,  Joshua 
L.  Chamberlain,  George  D.  B.  Pepper,  Oren  B.  Cheney,  Charles 


UNVEILING  THE  STATUE.  7 

F.  Allen,  John  Apploton,  William  G.  BarrowS,  A.  S.  Rice,  Henry 
A.  Neely. 

Executive  Committee — George  ¥.  Talbot,  Israel  WaKhlmrn,  jr., 
Henry  S.  Barrage,  IT.  W.  llichardson,  William  E.  Gould. 

Waysi  and  Means — James  P.  Baxter,  Lewis  Pierce,  Albro  E. 
Chase,  Frederic  II.  Gerrisli,  W.  W.  Thomas,  jr.,  Maria  ITersey, 
Hannah  L.  Talbot,  Mary  McCol)b,  Mrs.  R.  J.  Carpenter,  Mrs. 
Marcia  B.  Jordan. 

Plans — Joseph  W.  Symonds,  Harry  B.  Brown,  Sidney  W. 
Thaxter,  Francis  II.  Fassett,  Edward  H.  Elwell. 

Circulars  were  prepared,  by  vote  of  the  association, 
setting  forth  the  object  in  view  and  the  methods  pro- 
posed to  attain  it.  It  was  stated  that  the  payment  of 
one  dollai*  wonld  entitle  the  contributor  to  member- 
ship, and  that  the  names  of  all  contributors  would  be 
engrossed  and  placed  under  the  statue  when  erected. 
Cards  for  school  children  were  prepared,  entitling  the 
contributor  to  membership  on  the  payment  of  ten  cents. 
These  particulars  of  the  plan  of  raising  mone^^  for 
the  statue  were  furnished  to  all  the  newspapers  in  the 
state,  and  were  thus  placed  clearly  before  the  people. 
A  committee  of  sixteen  was  appointed,  one  for  each 
county,  to  have  charge  of  the  task  of  properly  dis- 
tributinu;:  the  circulars  and  canvassing  for  members 
Four  means  of  securing  funds  were  suggested :  — 

1,  direct  subscriptions;  2,  entertainments;  3,  of- 
ferings from  school  children ;  4,  sale  of  photographs. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  association,  held  October  7, 
1882,  the  first  subscription  received  by  the  committee 
was  reported.     This   came    from    a   foreign    country. 


8  L  ONGFEL  LOW  S  TA  TUE  A  SSO  CIA  TION. 

being  five  dollars  sent  by  T.  W.  Brockleliurst,  of  Hey- 
bury  Hall,  near  Macclesfield,  England. 

The  work  oi"  raising  money  now  began  in  earnest. 
A  connnittee  was  appointed  to  canvass  the  bnsiness 
streets  ot"  the  city  for  subscriptions  of  one  dollar. 
Rev.  Dr.  Burrage  and  James  P.  Baxter,  Esq.,  prepared 
and  reported  to  the  association  a  handsome  design  for 
a  children's  card.  It  bore  a  finely  engraved  portrait 
of  Longfellow  and  certified  that  the  child  whose  name 
was  indorsed  thereon  had  contributed  to  the  fund  of 
the  association.  On  the  4th  of  Novendjer,  1882,  Rev. 
Dr.  Burrage  reported  the  first  contribution  received 
from  school  children.  This  was  from  Miss  Annie  T. 
Whitney,  of  Castine,  who  sent  to  the  treasurer  the 
sum  of  three  dollars  and  ten  cents — the  offering  of 
thirty-one  of  her  pupils.  In  addition  to  the  scholars' 
cards,  membership  (hplomas  were  prociu'ed  and  put  in 
use. 

January  15,  1883,  active  canvassing  was  l^egun  in 
the  city,  and  during  the  following  month  a  considera- 
ble nucleus  of  a  fund  was  foruied.  The  cjinvassers 
were  successful  wherever  they  went  and  the  dollar 
membership  contributions  came  in  rapidly.  Mr.  Bax- 
ter reported  that  he  had  received  contrilnitions  from 
London  amounting  to  twenty-five  dollars.  The  work 
of  collecting  small  sums  from  school  children  was  car- 
ried forward  by  teachers  all  oxer  the  state.  "  Long- 
fellow Hours  "  were  held  in  many  schools  as  a  means 
of  awakening  the  interest  of  the  young  people.  In 
many  schools  a  regular  Longfellow  exercise  was  held 


UNVEILING   THE  STATUE.  9 

each  week,  coiijsisting  of  readings  and  declamations 
from  the  works  of  the  poet.  February  21,  1883,  it 
was  reported  hy  Mr.  Tasli  that  eight  thousjind  scholars' 
cards  had  been  disposed  of  in  Maine  and  other  states. 
On  the  anniversary  of  Longfellow's  birthday,  Feb- 
ruary 27,  1883,  a  grand  concert  was  given  in  City 
Hall,  under  the  direction  of  J.  B.  Coyle,  jr.,  chairman 
of  the  special  committee  ;  Mr.  J.  P.  Baxter,  chairman 
of  the  waj^s  and  means  committee,  having  general 
charge  of  the  arrangements.  In  this  concert  Chand- 
ler's Orchestra,  the  Haydn  Association,  Rossini  Club, 
Weber  Club,  Miss  Long,  Mrs.  Morrison,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Cushing,  Messrs.  Pennell  and  Coyle  participated.  The 
Haydn  Association  sang  "  Excelsior,"  arranged  by 
Kotzschmar,  with  thrilling  effect.  About  five  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  were  realized  from  this  entertainment. 
On  the  loth  of  March  following,  Harry  W.  French 
gave  a  lecture  in  City  Hall,  for  the  benefit  of  the  asso- 
ciation, yielding  about  fifty  dollars.  Entertainments 
were  given  in  many  of  the  churches,  netting  small 
sums  for  the  benefit  of  the  fund.  For  two  years  after 
this  the  association  held  no  meetings,  but  the  fund 
slowly  grew,  being  increased  by  interest  on  the  funds, 
in  the  hands  of  the  treasurer,  and  also  by  small  sub- 
scriptions. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  association,  February 
27,  1885,  there  were  a  few  changes  in  the  board  of 
officers.  General  J.  M.  Brown  was  made  a  member  of 
the  executive  coumiittee,  in  place  of  Hon.  Israel 
Washburn,  jr.,  deceased;  and  Mr.  Thaxter  exchanged 


10  LONGFELLOW  STA  TUE  ASSOC T A  TION. 

places  with  Mr.  Baxter,  the  former  beiii*^  made  chair- 
man of  the  ways  and  menus  committee,  and  the  latter 
a  member  oi"  the  committee  on  plans.  At  this  meet- 
ing the  treasurer  reported  that  the  sum  ot"  four  thous- 
and one  hundred  and  seventy-seven  dollars  had  been 
contributed. 

Durino;  the  foUowinii;  summer  the  fund  was  not 
much  increased.  Early  in  the  fall,  however,  it  was 
thought  advisable  to  proceed  to  the  selection  of  a 
sculptor.  Mr.  Franklin  Sinnnons,  having  submitted  a 
model  satisfactory  to  the  executive  committee,  re- 
ceived the  appointment  at  a  meeting  of  the  association 
held  October  3,  1885.  It  was  voted  at  this  meeting 
that  the  monument  be  placed  in  State  Street  Square, 
provided  those  living  in  that  vicinity  should  raise  the 
sum  of  two  thousand  dollars. 

At  the  next  annual  meeting,  February  27,  1886,  the 
same  officers  were  re-elected.  The  treasurer  reported 
a  small  increase  in  the  fund,  which  now  amounted  to 
four  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-one  dollars. 
A  contract  with  Mr.  Simmons  was  approved,  by  which 
he  agreed  to  make  a  sitting  statue  of  Longfellow,  of 
the  proportions,  if  standing,  of  not  less  than  nine  feet, 
of  the  finest  quality  of  statuary  bronze,  delivered  in 
Portland  at  his  own  risk,  for  the  sum  of  eight  thou- 
and  dollars,  one-third  to  be  paid  down,  one-third  on  the 
satisfactory  completion  of  the  plaster  model  of  the 
statue,  and  the  balance  on  the  deliver}^  of  the  statue 
in  Portland. 

At  the  annual  meeting,  February  26,   1887,  F.  H. 


UNVEILING  THE  STATUE.  \\ 

Fassett,  Esq.,  submitted  a  dcsio-n  for  the  pedestal, 
whic'li  was  adopted.  The  members  present  were  con- 
gratidated  on  the  forwardness  of  the  work.  One- 
third  of  the  sculptor's  fee  had  been  paid,  and  the 
treasurer  reported  two  thousand  two  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  dollars  in  his  hands.  The  old  board  of 
officers  was  re-elected,  with  a  few  changes  in  tlie  com- 
mittees. John  E.  DeWitt,  Esq.,  and  C.  D.  Brown, 
Esq.,  were  chosen  to  fill  vacancies  on  the  executive 
committee. 

At  the  beginning  of  1888  a  plaster  model  of  the 
statue  had  been  completed  and  accepted,  and  at  a 
meeting  on  January  9,  it  was  reported  that  the  statue 
would  soon  be  cast  in  bronze.  It  was  also  reported 
that  about  three  thousand  four  hundred  dollars  more 
Avould  be  needed  to  meet  all  the  bills,  on  the  comple- 
tion and  placing  of  the  statue.  It  was  voted  that  the 
remaining  funds  be  raised  by  subscription.  The  com- 
mittee on  ways  and  means,  together  with  twenty-three 
other  persons,  were  designated  to  have  charge  of  rais- 
ing the  money. 

At  a  meeting  of  this  committee  the  follo^ving  week, 
it  was  reported  that  Payson  Tucker,  Esq.,  had  given, 
on  behalf  of  the  Maine  and  New  Hampshire  Granite 
Company,  stone  for  a  pedestal,  of  the  value  of  five 
hundred  dollars.  The  stone  Avas  cut  by  Hawkes 
Brothers,  Portland,  according  to  the  beautiful  design 
by  Mr.  Fassett,  who  generously  presented  to  the  asso- 
ciation a  receipted  bill  of  one  hundred  and  forty-five 
dollars  for  his  services. 


12  LONGFELLO  W  STA  TUE  ASSOCIA  TION. 

Messrs.  Libby,  Barrage  and  Eicharclson  were  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  issue  cireulars  asking  for  sub- 
scriptions of  at  least  ten  dollars  each,  for  the  comple- 
tion of  the  fund.  This  proved  a  successful  appeal  and 
about  one  thousand  six  hundred  dcjllars  were  raised  in 
this  way.  The  Portland  Longfellow  Chautauqua  Circle 
gave  an  entertainment  in  City  Hall  which  yielded  over 
two  hundred  dollars. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  association,  February 
27,  1888,  the  list  of  officers  of  the  previous  year  with 
slio;ht  chano:es  were  acrain  elected. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  association.  May  16,  1888,  it 
was  reported  that  the  statue  had  been  successfully 
cast  and  was  read}^  for  shipment. 

September  8,  two  thousand  dollars  were  lacking  to 
complete  the  fund.  An  effort  was  at  once  made  to 
secure  this  amount,  and  with  such  gratifying  results 
that  arrano-ements  were  made  for  the  unveilinyi:  of 
the  statue,  which  arrived  in  Portland  on  Monday,  Sep- 
tember 24,  and  on  the  following  day  was  placed  on  its 
pedestal  already  erected  in  State  Street,  now  Ijy 
action  of  the  Common  Council,  hereafter  to  Ije  named 
Longfellow  Square. 


UNVEILING  THE  STArUE.  \^ 


EXERCISES    AT    I'lIE     UNVEILING    OF    THE   STATUE. 

The  statue  was  luivoiled  on  Saturday  afternoon, 
September  29,  1888,  at  three  o'clock,  in  the  presence  of 
an  immense  concourse  of  people.  A  stand  for  the  band 
and  speakers  was  erected  just  south  of  the  statue. 
Settees  were  phiced  in  front  of  the  statue  and  were 
reserved  for  the  hidies  and  invited  guests.  Among 
the  members  of  the  Longfellow  family  in  attendance 
were  Mrs.  Greenleaf  of  Cambridge,  and  Mrs.  Pierce 
of  Portland,  sisters  of  the  poet,  Mrs.  Dana,  daughter 
of  the  poet,  with  her  son  Henry,  and  Alexander  Long- 
fellow, brother  of  the  poet.  Letters  of  regret  were 
received  from  President  Eliot  of  Harvard,  Rev.  Edward 
E.  Hale,  George  William  Curtis,  E.  C.  Stedman,  T.  W. 
Hii):;2!;inson,  Goori>:e  W.  Cable,  Ernest  W.  Lono-fellow, 
T.  B.  Aldrich,  George  Bancroft,  Samuel  L.  Clemens 
and  others. 


14  LONGFELLOW  STA  TUE  ASSOC  LA  TLON. 

George  William  Curtis  wrote  as  follows  :  — 

I  have  just  received  your  kind  invitation  to  the  ceremony  of 
unvc'ilinuj  the  statue  of  Lonj^Fellt^w  •aw'X  I  regret  extremely  that 
I  am  unable  to  accept  it.  No  words  that  may  he  spolcen  can 
over[)raise  the  tender  beauty  of  his  song,  the  sim|>le  manliness 
of  his  character  and  the  )>urity  of  his  life.  Portland  may  well 
])ay  homage  to  her  famous  son  and  illustrate  in  the  memorial  she 
raises  the  (jualities  which  she  holds  to  be  worthy  of  i)erpetual 
reverence. 


T.  W.  Higgiiison  wrote  as  follows :  — 

I  regret  very  much  my  inability  to  be  present  at  the  unveiling 
of  the  statue  of  Longfellow.  It  is  eminently  ap[»ropriate  that  it 
should  be  phiced  in  the  city  which  gave  him  birth  a:id  which  he 
loved  so  much. 


George  Bancroft  wrote  :  — 

I  share  all  your  admiration  and  pride  in  Longfellow's  charac- 
ter as  a  poet  and  as  a  man ;  l>ut  on  account  of  my  age  I  dare  not 
promise  to  be  with  you  on  the  day  which  you  set  apart  to  com- 
memorate his  genius  and  his  virtues. 


T.  B.  Aldricli  wrote  :  — 

I  have  just  returned  from  abroad  after  a  three  months' 
absence,  and  at  present  I  find  it  impossible  to  leave  home  even 
for  a  day.  I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you  for  your  kind  invitation. 
Some  time  I  shall  make  a  pilgrimage  to  Portland  for  no  other 
purpose  than  to  see  the  statue  of  her  beloved  poet. 


UNVEILING  THE  STATITE.  15 

Hon.  James  W.  Bradbury,  of  Augusta,  in  accepiino; 
the  invitation  to  be  present,  said  :  — 

I  have  never  received  auythiiig  but  kindness  fnjni  the  people 
of  Portland, 

Members  of  the  Longfellow  Statue  Asso(',i;ition  occu- 
pied seats  near  the  platform. 

Previous  to  the  exereises  the  First  Reghuent  Band 
played  several  selections.  At  three  o'clock,  the  Hag 
which  covered  the  statue  was  removed,  amid  hearty 
demonstrations  of  admiration  and  approval  from  the 
great  number  of  people  present. 

Clarence  W.  Peabody,  of  the  Portland  High  School, 
read  the  prelude,  written  by  George  E.  B.  Jackson, 
Esq.  This  was  followed  by  the  singing  of  Longfellow's 
"  Psalm  of  Life,"  admirably  rendered  by  school  child- 
ren, under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  Merrill,  teacher  of 
singing  in  the  public  schools.  Hon.  Charles  F.  Libby, 
president  of  the  Longfellow  Statue  Association,  then 
delivered  an  oration,  which  was  responded  to  by  Mayor 
Chapman.  The  poem,  written  by  Mrs.  E.  Cavazza, 
was  read  by  Hon.  Stanley  T.  PuUen.  The  exercises 
closed  by  the  singing  of  the  Doxology,  "  Praise  God 
from  whom  all  blessings  flow,"  and  music  by  the  band. 


THE    LITERARY    EXERCISES. 


PRELUDE.* 

BY   (;kok(;k   k.   b.  .iackson. 

This  sculptured  form, 

'T  is  but  the  semblance, 

And  still  'tis  he! 

Amid  the  bnsy  throng. 

Calmly  he  sits ; 

Of  all  that  pass  along, 

Heedless  is  he ! 

His  gaze  is  fixed  toward  home. 

He  loved  it  well, 

And  yet  he  seeth  naught ! 

His  ears  attent 

To  catch  the  rustling  leaves 

Of  Deering  woods, 

But  still  he  heareth  not ! 

Well  hath  the  sculptor  wrought. 

Making  the  seeming  —  real, 

The  fiction  —  fact. 

And,  in  enduring  bronze. 

His  very  form  hath  caught ! 

We,  living,  thee  salute, 

Sweetest  of  bards! 

Thy  voice  hath  ceased  to  be, 

Read  by  ("lareiice  W.  I'caboily  ot  the  I'ortlaml  lli;;li  SiIkh 


18  LONGFELLOW  STA  TUE  ASSOCIA  TION. 

Yet  through  tlic   world 
Excelsior's  fliig  unfurled 
Bears,  in  its  strange  device, 
Thy  name  and  fame  ! 
Thy  Psalm  of  Life  still  lives 
And  to  the  weary  gives 
Its  heaven-taught  blessed  words; 
In  pure  Evangeline, 
The  unsullied  life  is  thine; 
While  from  the  Wayside  Inn, 
And  Village  Blacksmith's  din. 
Thy  fancy  weaves  such  forms 
Of  beauty  and  of  grace, 
That,  but  to  speak  thy  name. 
Sets  all  our  hearts  aflame, 
And  chief  of  bards  we  place 
Our  Longfellow  ! 

The  poet  needs  no  monument 
In  lasting  bronze  or  stone ; 
So  long  as  man  shall  live. 
His  silver  words  alone 
Shall  keep  his  memory  green  ! 

Yet,  fitly,  in  his  boyhood  home. 
The  old  town  by  the  sea. 
Beneath  these  arching  elms. 
Where  he  so  loved  to  be, 
His  sculptured  form  we  place  ! 

And  in  the  days  and  years  to  come, 
When  men  are  asked  to  name 
Whom  Portland  honors  first, 
Deserving  poet's  fame, 
All  shall  point  hitherward! 


UNVEILING   THE  STATUE.  19 


ORATION 


BY    HON.    CHARLES    F.    LIBBY. 


Ladies  and  Getitlemen: — The  occasion  tliut  brings 
us  together  today  is  one  of  more  than  passing  interest, 
and  marks  an  important  event  in  tlie  Ufe  of  our  city. 
As  citizens,  we  have  assembled  to  honor  the  memory 
of  the  most  illustrious  of  her  sons,  to  pay  our  tribute 
to  a  life  of  singular  purity  and  merit,  to  give  expres- 
sion in  permanent  form  to  our  admiration  for  the  qual- 
ities of  mind  and  heart  which  have  made  Longfellow 
the  best  known  and  loved  of  American  poets. 

We  have  called  to  our  aid  the  sculptor's  art,  to  per- 
petuate in  enduring  bronze  the  physical  aspects  of  the 
man,  the  dignity  and  charm  of  his  person.  But  this 
is  not  the  full  meaning  of  our  act ;  it  is  the  life  of  the 
poet  rather  than  his  fame  or  achievements,  great  as 
the}^  were,  which  we  would  emphasize  today.  We 
would  have  this  statue  stand  as  a  monument  to  indi- 
vidual worth,  a  tribute  to  noble  living.  Fortunately 
it  is  not  necessary  to  separate  the  poet  from  the  man 
in  this  tribute  of  our  admiration,  for  his  poems  are  but 
the  expression  of  his  life,  and  Longfellow  is  greater 
than  any  of  his  poems.  What  manner  of  man  he  was, 
what   thoughts  he  spoke,    what  ideals   he    cherished. 


20  /-  ONGFEL  LOW  STATUE  A  SSOC/A  TION. 

what  life  he  lived,  arc  luatter.s  which  possess  a  pecu- 
liai"  interest  to  us,  who  claim  him  as  "  to  the  manner 
born. " 

As  we  stand  upon  this  s[)()t  today,  almost  the  center 
of  our  city's  j)o]ndation  and  growth,  it  is  diflRcult  to 
recall  the  Portland  of  eighty  years  ago — the  Portland 
of  Longfellow's  childhood  and  youth  —  then  a  town  of 
between  six  and  seven  thousand  inhabitants,  with  its 
center  of  population  east  of  Exchange  street,  with  its 
northerly  slope  toward  Back  Bay  thinly  sprinkled  with 
houses,  with  but  a  single  house  upon  State  street — 
the  residence  of  a  future  chief-justice  of  the  state  — 
with  Bramhall  and  Munjoy  hills  thickly  grown  with 
bushes,  and  hardly  reclaimed  from  nature's  hands ; 
and  yet,  as  a  town,  it  already  gave  evidence  of  the 
thrift  and  enterprise  of  its  inlialiitants,  which,  notwith- 
standing its  repeated  calamities  and  misfortunes,  have 
enabled  it  to  rise  thrice  from  its  ashes,  and  each  time 
to  gain  vantage  ground  from  apparently  overwhelming 
disaster. 

But  however  much  the  Portland  of  the  past  may 
differ  from  that  of  the  present,  so  far  as  the  hand  of 
man  is  concerned,  the  natural  beauties  of  its  situation, 
which  have  made  it,  and  will  ever  make  it,  one  of  na- 
tures's  loveliest  pictures,  were  the  same  at  the  time  of 
Longfellow's  birth  as  toda3^  Fore  River,  Back  Biiy, 
Deering  Woods,  Casco  Bay,  dotted  with  islands  (the 
Hesperides  of  his  youthful  dreams),  the  open  sea,  the 
rich  stretch  of  landscape  with  its  background  of  the 
White  Hills,  are  all  the  same.      They   ai-c    permanent 


UNVEILING   T//E  STATUE.  21 

features  of  oui-  ^'beautiful  town  hy  tlie  sea,"  to  which 
Lonfcllow  ever  returned  witli  filial  love  and  admiration, 
seeking  the  memories  of  his  lost  youth  amid  the  scenes 
that  had  first  awakened  his  boyish  yearnings  and  as- 
pirations. Such  surroundings  as  these  had  much  to 
do  with  the  unfolding  of  his  sensitive  and  responsive 
nature.  They  furnished  the  background  to  the  picture, 
the  stimulant  to  his  youthful  fancy  and  imagination. 
Nature  in  her  large  and  varied  way  supplied  what  was 
lacking  in  the  narrow  life  of  the  town,  and  ministered 
to  the  needs  of  an  ardent  and  thoughtful  temperament, 
which  turned  from  the  ordinary  pursuits  of  men  and 
sought  companionship  in  books  and  in  the  creations  of 
his  own  imagination. 

It  is  hard  to  realize  the  difference  between  the 
intellectual  life  of  today  and  that  of  the  early  part  of 
this  century  in  New  England.  The  prodigious  stride 
we  have  made  in  the  world  of  letters,  the  widenino-  of 
our  intellectual  horizon  by  greater  facilities  of  travel 
and  inter-communication,  the  changes  in  the  social  and 
material  couditions  of  life  which  have  emancipated  us 
from  the  narrowness  and  isolation  of  a  new  civilization 
and  brought  us  into  a  close  and  sympathetic  companion- 
ship with  the  spirit  of  the  old  world,  have  wrought  a 
revolution  so  great  in  all  that  ministers  to  the  intel- 
lectual growth  of  a  nation  that  it  seems  hardly  pos- 
sible that  a  century  could  have  produced  results  so 
wides^Dreading  and  beneficent.  In  the  early  part  of 
this  century  American  literature  was  a  thing  hardly 
begotten.     It  had  not  yet  escaped  from  the  trammels 


22  LONGFELLO  W  S TA  TUE  ASSOC/ A  TION. 

which  local  custom  and  conditions  liiid  placed  upon  it. 
America  had  no  literary  school  worthy  of  the  name. 
Its  energies  ha.d  been  too  much  absorbed  in  the  solu- 
tion of  practical  problems  of  government  to  Ikivc 
much  time  for  the  cultivation  of  the  fine  arts.  The 
national  spirit  had  not  yet  found  its  best  literary 
form  and  expression.  Our  intense  struggle  for  national 
existence,  our  constant  contest  with  material  sui'round- 
inirs  to  jxain  a  broader  foothold  for  our  civilization, 
had  produced  an  activity  and  unrest  wliicli  had  little 
harmony  with  cloistered  shades  or  a  life  of  scholarly 
meditation.  The  very  intensity  of  our  national  feel- 
ing precluded  that  sympathy  with  the  life  and  institu- 
tions of  the  past  which  is  essential  to  the  creation  of 
the  highest  literature.  The  breadth  and  sweep  of 
our  genius  was  shown  in  a  political  rather  than  a  lit- 
erary form.  Foreign  nations  had  little  to  furnish  us 
in  the  way  of  guides  to  our  national  development. 
The  old  civilization  was  too  much  wedded  to  the  past, 
was  associated  too  intimately  with  theories  and  insti- 
tutions which  vexed  our  spirit  and  aroused  our  antago- 
nism, to  make  us  alive  to  its  merits  or  tolerant  of  its 
defects. 

Conditions  like  these  do  not  favor  the  pursuit  of  a 
literary  career ;  and  it  is  a  proof  of  the  strong  and 
pervading  qualities  of  his  mind,  that  Longfellow  was 
able  to  withstand  the  current  of  his  time  and  to  follow 
unchecked  the  career  which  his  genius  marked  out  for 
him.  The  prosaic  life  of  a  New  England  town  was 
not  able  to  check  the  genuine  instincts  of  the  poet. 


UNVEILING   TIfE  STATUE.  23 

His  refined  and  sensitive  nature  fomid  all  that  was 
necessary  for  its  growth  in  its  surroundings,  and  with 
that  power  of  selection  which  marks  all  highly-organ- 
ized minds,  was  able  to  find  among  the  common  thiuiis 
of  life  the  elements  of  beauty  and  truth  and  to  invest 
them  with  a  new  spiritual  significance.  The  outward 
world  was  to  him  hut  the  manifestation  of  tlie  spirit ; 
and  the  inner  life,  the  life  of  thought  and  feeling, 
more  than  all  things  else.  His  temperament  was  a 
happy  blending  of  the  seriousness  and  earnestness  of 
the  New  England  character  with  the  cheerfulness  and 
buoyancy  of  more  sunny  climes.  He  was  not  born 
out  of  joint  with  the  world,  but  in  harmony  with  the 
whole  creation.  He  had  neither  the  aggressiveness  of 
the  reformer  nor  the  narrowness  and  intolerance  of 
the  bigot.  Of  a  deeply  religious  nature,  his  religion 
was  of  the  heart  nitlier  than  of  the  head.  It  was 
based  upon  the  beatitudes  rather  than  the  terrors  of 
Sinai.  At  a  time  when  New  England  was  intensely 
Calvinistic,  and  Edward  Payson,  one  of  its  foremost 
exponents,  swayed  the  minds  of  his  towaismen  by  his 
powerful  logic  and  appeals,  Longfellow  was  able  to 
hold  to  what  seemed  to  him  a  more  reasonable  faith 
and  one  which,  interpreted  by  his  early  pastor.  Dr. 
Nichols,  was  not  lacking  in  deep  spirituality.  In  one 
of  his  later  poems  we  find  the  expression  of  his  creed. 

It  is 

the  simple  thought 
By  the  great  Master  taught, 

And  that  remaineth  still  : 
Not  he  that   repeateth  the  name 

But  he  that  doeth  the  will. 


24  ^  ONGFEL  L  O IV  S  TA  TUE  A  SSO  CIA  TION. 

He  held  his  religious  faith  as  he  held  his  opinion  ot" 
men  and  things,  not  as  matters  for  controversy,  but  as 
genuine  convictions,  charitably  formed,  firmly  held, 
and  consistently  lived  up  to. 

Of  the  impress  which  Longfellow  has  made  upon 
his  own  generation,  it  is  difHcult  to  measure  the  full 
value  and  extent.  His  quarter  of  a  century  of  work 
as  professor  of  modern  languages  in  two  of  our  higher 
institutions  of  learning,  enabled  him  to  give  an 
impulse  to  many  minds,  the  effect  of  which  is  still 
felt.  His  contributions  to  American  literature  were 
timely  and  important.  He  brought  from  his  European 
studies  and  travel  the  elements  which  were  wanting 
to  its'  growth,  the  spirit  and  traditions  of  an  older  civ- 
ilization and  an  atmosphere  of  riper  and  broader  cul- 
ture. That  our  American  literature  has  thrown  aside 
its  provincial  dress  and  has  attained  Ji  recognition 
beyond  the  sea,  is  largely  due  to  the  influence  which 
Longfellow  exerted  on  its  early  growth.  His  labors 
in  German,  French,  Italian  and  Spanish  literature 
were  pioneer  work  for  American  scholarship.  They 
prepared  the  way  for  greater  things  and  Ijrought  in 
their  train  results  which  are  now  seen  in  the  more 
generous  culture  and  varied  scholarship  of  our  own 
day. 

His  anti-slavery  })oems  show  that  he  was  not  lack- 
ing in  the  courage  of  his  convictions,  and  that  he  was 
stirred  by  acts  of  deep  wrong  and  injustice.  Yet  his 
was  essentially  a  gentle  nature,  one  which  would  suffer 
wrong  rather  than  inflict  it,  one    which  found  little 


UNVEILING  THE  STATUE.  25 

pleasure  in  tlu>  fierce  ])()leinics  of  life,  Init  genuine  sat- 
isfaction  in  acts  of  kiiidlv  courtesy  and  benevolence. 
His   was  not  an   exclusive    and    narrow    spirit    wliich 
could  not  he  touched  by  the  sorrows  of  our  coinmon 
luunanity.      His  sympathies  were  broad  and  delicate, 
nay,  almost  womanly.      He  ignored  none. of  the  ordi- 
nary  experiences  of  life.     He  had  tasted  its  strange 
mixture  of  joy  and  sorrow.     The  burdens  of  our  race 
he  bore  upon  his  heart,  and  gathered  into  his  broad 
humanity  the  varied  phases  of  our  checkered  life.     In 
the  preseuce  of  the  mysteries  which  hem  in  the  cycle 
of  our  lives,  his  was  a  reverent  but  courageous  attitude. 
His  poems    breathe  the  spirit  of  a  lofty    resignation 
which  indulges  in  no  wild  declamation  of  grief,  but, 
sustained  by  a  faith  which  falters  not  when  tested,  bows 
his  head  before  the  storm  and  resolutely  takes  up  his 
load    and   pushes    on.     What    sympathy    he    has   for 
human  sorrow !     How  gently  he  touches  the  chords 
of  human  feelings    and    soothes    the    wounded   heart 
with  words  of  consolation,  such  only  as  the  heart  that 
has  known  its  own  sorrows  can  utter.     Wherever  the 
English  tongue  is  spoken  his  lyrics  have  become  house- 
hold words.     He    has  entered  into  every  home    as  a 
gracious  presence,  voicing  its  joys  and  sorrows,  speak- 
ing words  of  comfort  and  of  cheer.      "  As  no  unwel- 
come guest,"  he  has  been  received,  repaying  its  hospi- 
tality with  ministrations  of  gentleness  and  peace,  lift- 
ing   the    downhearted,    soothing   the    distressed,    and 
infusing  new  courage  for  the  battle  of  life. 


26  LONGFELLO  W  S  TA  TUE  ASSOC  I  A  TTON. 

His    philosophy    of    life    has    no    uncertain    sound. 
With  him 

Life  is  real,  life  is  earnest, 
And  the  grave  is  not  its  goal. 

lie  indulges  in  no  vain  regrets  or  useless  lamenta- 
tion. The  present  is  always  with  us,  pressing  us  with 
its  duties  to  be  performed ;  the  future  lies  before  us 
with  its  dangers  and  opportunities  calling  for  courage 
and  faith.  It  is  summed  up  in  the  motto  of  Hyperion  : 
'^  Look  not  mournfidly  into  the  Past :  it  comes  not 
back  again ;  wisely  improve  the  Present :  it  is  thine  ; 
cro  forth  to  meet  the  shadowy  Future  without  fear, 
and  with  a  manly  heart." 

Such  as  this  motto  indicates,  was  his  life.  Sincere, 
manly,  courageous,  steadfast  to  its  ideals,  constant  to 
the  end.  In  this  busy  world  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  with  its  bustle  and  whirl,  its  strife  and  con- 
tention, its  mad  pursuit  of  wealth,  its  feverish  excite- 
ment and  unrest,  he  lived  his  life,  unmoved  by  all 
"  vain  pomps  and  shows,"  untainted  by  envy,  greed, 
or  unworthy  ambition,  a  serene,  pure  and  courageous 
spirit,  whose  verses  partake  of  the  character  of  the 
man,  strong,  simple  and  harmonious.  Who  shall 
measure  the  value  of  such  a  life,  so  rounded  and  com- 
plete, so  perfect  in  all  its  relations  of  husband,  father, 
citizen,  Jind  friend. 

It  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  present  at  Bowdoin 
college  on  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  his  class  and  to 
hear  him  deliver  the  poem  prepared  for  that  occasion. 


UNVEILING  THE  STA  TUE.  27 

a  poem  which  ono  ol'  his  eulogists  has  called  "  the 
grandest  hymn  to  age  that  was  ever  written."  The 
scene  has  left  a  ])icture  upon  my  mind  that  T  love  to 
recall  and  contemplate — a  picture  of  old  age  oi"  rare 
dignity,  serenity,  and  beauty,  accompanied  with  a 
charm  of  speech  and  graciousness  of  manner  which 
held  the  listener  as  in  a  spell. 

Into  the  poem  was  compressed  the  gathered  wisdom 
of  a  long  and  fruitful  life.  Its  rhythmic  and  stately 
measure  was  in  keeping  with  the  theme.  With  what 
tender  and  manly  feeling  did  he  greet  the  classmates 
of  fifty  year."  before,  with  what  generous  words  of  en- 
couragement and  praise  greet  the  youth  who  were 
about  to  enter  tlie  race,  what  grand  and  impressive 
tones  he  uttered  as  he  touched  on  some  of  the  solemn 
themes  of  life,  with  what  calm  philosophy  did  he  face 
the  mysteries  of  death,  with  what  earnestness  proclaim 
the  opportunities  of  the  present. 

For  ago  is  opportunity 
No  less  than  youth  itself,  though  in  another  dress, 
And  as  the  evening  twilight  fades  away 
The  sky  is  filled  with  stars,  invisible  by  day. 

The  ])oet  himself  has  left  us,  but  the  fragrance  of 
his  life  remains.  Those  who  have  known  him  person- 
ally will  soon  follow,  and  another  generation  will  know 
him  only  in  his  works.  But  in  these  his  fame  is  secure, 
for  he  has  written  himself  into  his  poems  and  his  own 
verse  is  his  most  fitting  eulogy  :  — 

He  the  sweetest  of  all  singers, 
Beautiful  and  childlike  was  he, 


28  LONGFELLOW  STA  TUR  ASSOCLA  TLON. 

Brave  as  man  is,  soft  as  woman, 
Pliant  as  a  wand  of  willow, 
Stately  as  a  deer  with  antlers. 
All  the  many  sounds  of  nature 
Borrowed  sweetness  from  his  singing ; 
All  the  hearts  of  men  were  softened 
By  the  pathos  of  his  music  ; 
For  he  sang  of  peace  and  freedom. 
Sang  of  beauty,  love  and  longing ; 
Sang  of  death,  and  life  undying 
In  the  land  of  the  Hereafter. 
For  his  gentleness  they  loved  him, 
And  the  magic  of  his  singing. 

The  Longfellow  Statue  Association  of  Portland,  has 
accomplished  the  purpose  of  its  organization.  Its 
work  is  now  done.  It  only  remains  for  me  as  presi- 
dent of  the  association  to  formally  transfer  to  the 
chief  magistrate  of  our  city  the  custody  of  this  statue, 
which  perpetuates  the  memory  of  Longfellow  and 
adds  new  interest  to  the  city  of  his  birth.  It  is 
the  work  of  one  of  Maine's  gifted  sons,  and  the 
cunning  hand  of  the  sculptor  has  with  rare  fidelity 
and  success  reproduced  the  manly  grace  and  beauty 
of  the  original. 

To  this  spot,  henceforth  dedicated  to  the  genius  of 
Longfellow,  future  generations  will  come  to  pay  their 
tribute  of  homage  and  respect  to  the  poet  and  the 
man.  So  long  as  this  statue  shall  endure  it  will  stand 
as  a,  silent  reminder  of  the  value  of  a  pure  aud  un- 
tarnished life,  of  noble  endeavor  directed  to  worthy 
ends. 


UiVVEIIJNG   THE  STAniE.  20 

RESPONSE. 

IJY    IIOX,    CHARLES    .1.    CPAPMAX,    MAVOlt. 

Mr.  President,  Members  of  the  Longfellow  Statue 
Association.,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: — It  is  with  tV'clin^ii-s 
of  profound  appreciation  and  gratitude  that  I,  in  l)e- 
half  of  the  city  of  Porthmd.  accept  at  the  hands  of 
your  association,  this  artistic  memorial  of  her  most 
distinguished  son,  and  officially  commit  it  to  such  sa- 
cred municipal  custody  as  shall  henceforth  serve  as  a 
protection  against  wanton  injury,  or  the  too  despoiling 
ravages  of  time. 

For  the  bestowal  upon  our  city  of  so  appropriate 
and  welcome  a  gift,  no  words  of  mine  can  render  ade- 
quate thanks,  nor  will  1  mock  the  opportunity  with 
any  such  attempt ;  and  yet  I  feel  constrained  to  offer 
some  passing  compliment  not  only  for  the  worthy  mo- 
tive which  prompted  your  association,  but  also  for  the 
uniform  wisdom  which  has  characterized  its  methods. 
Animated  with  the  exalted  object  of  commemorating 
the  sublimest  accomplishments  of  poetic  genius,  in  a 
masterpiece  of  art,  you  followed  not  the  too  prevalent 
opinion  that  such  a  privilege  is  the  exclusive  preroga- 
tive of  wealth,  but  encouraged  the  cooperation  of 
every  person  whose  sympathy  accorded  with  your 
purpose  ;  and  today  it  is  a  source  of  exceeding  satis- 
faction that  this  statue  has  been  erected  not  by  the 
generosity  of  a  devoted  few,  but  through  the  glad  of- 


30  LONGFELLO  W  STA  TUE  ASSOCIA  TION. 

ierings  of  a  iiiultitiidc  of  appreciative  hearts,  young 
Miul  old. 

And  if  superioi-  jud<,nnent  was  exercised  in  opening 
wide  the  door  for  pubhc  contribution  toward  this  statue, 
certainly  no  less  wisdom  was  displayed  in  the  felicitous 
selection  of  its  sculptor.  The  former  policy  broad- 
ened the  circle  of  individual  into  general  interest ;  the 
latter  act  kindled  common  interest  into  enthusiasm, 
since  both  the  affection  and  pride  of  Portland  stir  at 
mention  of  the  name  of  Simmons,  for  many  years  a 
favorite  resident  in  our  midst. 

Aware  of  his  native  talent,  familiar  with  his  early 
training,  acquainted  with  his  growing  career,  justly 
proud  of  his  well-earned  fame,  and  gratefully  conscious 
of  the  luster  reflected  by  his  reputation  upon  his 
adopted  city,  what  more  befitting,  or  better  calculated 
to  arouse  local  enthusiasm,  than  that  his  masterful 
hand  should  be  employed  in  molding  an  image  of  our 
beloved  poet,  whose  acquaintance,  in  common  with 
ourselves,  he  had  once  enjoyed,  and  whose  reproduc- 
tion in  bronze  it  became  almost  possible  for  him  to 
endow  with  that  sweet  personality  of  character  which 
he  had  encountered  in  living  contact. 

Significant,  then,  the  choice,  and  most  appropriate, 
of  Simmons  as  sculptor  of  the  first  statue  erected  in 
memory  of  Longfellow.  Doubly  significant  and  ap- 
propriate the  circumstance  that  such  statue  should 
be  located  amid  the  scenes  of  Longfellow's  boyhood, 
within  view  of  those  Deering  w^oods  whose  carpet  of 
oak-strewn  leaves  his  youthful  feet  were  accustomed 


UNVEILING  THE  STA  TUE.  31 

to  tread,  ^vh()^<e  lofty  (l(^mes  and  deep  shadows  are  cel- 
ebrated in  his  undying  verse. 

Most  befitting  is  it,  also,  that  another  distinctive 
honor  which  clusters  around  this  day  as  being  the 
occasion  of  the  unveiling  of  the  first  statue  within 
the  limits  of  our  city  —  an  occasion  as  fraught  with 
meaning  to  our  municipality  as  marks  the  first-born  in 
the  family  —  should  attach  to  him  who  has  shed  the 
greatest  gloiy  on  her  history.  Most  insensible  should 
we  be  if,  in  addition  to  that  esteem  which  intelligent 
minds  instinctively  yield  to  genius,  we  failed  to  ex- 
perience the  special  gratification  arising  from  its 
parentage  and  early  development.  Portland  does, 
indeed,  count  herself  supremely  honored  in  being  the 
birth-place  of  Longfellow,  and  rejoices  that  his  poetic 
genius,  divinely  born,  however  much  nourished  after- 
ward by  opportunity,  began  here  to  manifest  prophetic 
signs  of  that  exalted  power,  which  in  subsequent 
years  caused  its  possessor  to  be  crowned  king  of  poets 
with  universal  acclaim. 

No  less  gratifying  to  our  pride  comes  the  knowledge 
of  the  poet's  filial  loyalty  to  the  home  of  his  nativity 
and  youth.  The  changing  vicissitudes  of  after  years, 
the  heaped-up  accumulation  of  honors,  did  not  sunder 
his  affections  from  boyhood  ties,  nor  diminish  the  force 
of  early  associations.  To  his  latest  days  he  loved  to 
revisit  the  familiar  spots  of  the  "  dear  old  town," 

Where  the  friendships  old,  and  the  early  loves 
Come  back  with  a  Sabbath  sound, 


32  LONGFELLOW  S TA  TUE  ASSOC! A  TION. 

and  soiHo  of  his  most  inspirt'd  moments  were  devoted 
to  celebrating  the  picturesque  beauties  of  shore  and 
isle  of  "the  city  by  the  sea"  in  lyrics  which  will 
be  repeated  with  ever  fresh  enjoyment  when  this 
statue,  like  its  original,  shall  have  mingled  with  the 
dust. 

Suflficient  cause  for  congratulation  exists,  then,  in 
the  circumstances  nnd  incidents  of  this  occasion,  re- 
gardless of  thronging  memories  and  suggestive  lessons 
with  which  the  hour  is  fraught.  And  .how  shall  I  al- 
lude to  these  ?  Does  not  younger  Pliny  comprehen- 
sively express  our  position  when  he  says,  "  If  our  grief 
is  alleviated  by  gazing  on  the  pictures  of  departed 
friends  in  our  homes,  how  much  more  pleasure  is  there 
in  looking  on  those  public  representations  of  them 
which  are  memorials  not  onh'  of  their  air  and  counte- 
nance, but  also  of  the  honor  and  esteem  with  which 
they  are  regarded  by  their  fellow  citizens." 

True  it  is  that  pictures  and  mementoes  of  Longfel- 
low hold  a  familiar  place  in  our  households,  imparting 
extreme  pleasure ;  equally  true  is  it  that  such  pleasure 
swells  into  joy  when  for  the  first  time  can  be  seen  in 
one  of  our  most  central  thoroughfares  a  true  delinea- 
tion of  him,  whose  living  companionship  is  a  cherished 
memory  in  the  hearts  of  many  present.  For,  happily, 
this  statue  is  not  delayed,  as  too  often  the  case,  until 
its  subject,  bereft  of  contemporaneous  association,  no 
longer  possesses  power  to  awaken  vivid  personal  recol- 
lections.    Speaking  from  my  own  experience,  how  for- 


UNVEILING  THE  STATUE.  33 

cibly  am  I  reminded  of  my  first  meeting  with  Longfel- 
low in  the  summer  of  1875  at  Brunswick,  whither  he 
had  repaired  to  attend  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  his 
famous  class.  How  distinctlj^  is  recalled  the  impres- 
sion made  upon  me  of  his  serenity  of  mind,  his  puritj- 
of  heart,  his  amiability  and  grandeur  of  life.  To  take 
such  a  man  b}'^  the  hand  conveyed,  as  with  electric 
current,  a  sudden  uplift  to  the  soul.  To  enter  the  at- 
mosphere of  so  wholesome  and  bright  a  presence, 
seemed  like  passing  into  a  realm  of  sunshine.  Expe- 
riences of  this  kind  are  readily  remembered  by  his 
friends,  and,  in  like  manner  as  shadow  reflects  sub- 
stance, casual  acquaintances,  even,  verify  their  reality 
with  recurrence  of  similar  impressions.  The  power 
to  re-awaken  such  charm  of  personal  relation  with  the 
poet  invests  his  statue  with  unwonted  and  peculiar  in- 
terest. Herein  is  recognized  the  air  and  countenance 
of  the  man,  as  well  as  the  tribute  to  the  poet's  great- 
ness. Herein  the  sculptor's  art  restores  again  to  view 
the  departed,  but  not  forgotten  form  of  father,  broth- 
er, friend,  no  less  unmistakably  than  it  commemorates 
genius  with  monument  of  enduring  bronze.  Herein 
the  penetrating  eye  of  early  and  succeeding  friendship 
can  discern  characteristic  traces  of  youthful  expres- 
sion intermingled  with  well-known  deeper  lines  —  the 
offspring  of  maturer  age  —  and  crossed,  alas,  with  fur- 
rows of  sorrowful  experience,  the  common  portion  of 
humanity.  Of  such  and  kindred  other  associations 
does  this  statue  speak,  and  because  its  voice   awakes 


34  LONGFELLOW  STA  TUE  ASSOCIA  TION. 

familiar  echoes  in  the  soul,  we  hail  it  as  inexpressibly 
dear. 

And  yet  the  statue's  chief  significance  remains  to 
be  considered.  Transcending  its  value  as  a  token  of 
municipal  pride,  or  even  as  a  suggestion  of  sacred  and 
tender  relations  in  the  past,  is  its  use  as  a  memorial  of 
public  veneration  and  esteem.  In  this  view  our  vision 
extends  beyond  local  limitations  and  the  range  of 
personal  recollection,  to  comprehend  sublime  eleva- 
tions of  character  and  thought  in  human  history, 
wherein  Longfellow  ap])ears  foremost  and  great,  ''  like 
an  Alpine  mountain,  without  setting  up  to  be  great 
at  all."  Maiiifesting  in  the  majestic  simplicity  of  his 
nature  no  appearance  of  the  artificial  or  unreal  ;  in 
the  quality  of  his  productions  no  evidence  of  the 
transcendental  or  untrue  ;  in  all  his  faculties  a  verita- 
ble poet, 

whose  heart 
Is  like  a  nest  of  singing  birds 
Rocked  on  the  topmost  bough  of  life, 

and  from  very  necessity  of  existence  giving  utterance 

To  songs  of  that  high  art 
Which,  as  winds  do  in  the  pine, 
Find  an  answer  in  .each  heart. 

These  responsive  heart  throbs  have  found  expression 
in  beautiful  tributes  from  myriad   lips.     Tributes    to 


UNVEILING  THE  STATUE.  35 

the  sweet  eluirm  of  liis  life  as  well  as  the  unexceUed 
merit  of  his  writings  ''  rich  in  noble  conceptions  and 
the  indescribable  essence  of  beauty  pervading  them." 
Tributes  well-woven  together  into  a  wreath  of  im- 
mortal fame  forever  to  encircle  the  poet's  brow.  Into 
this  garland  Holmes  placed  a  brilliant  leaf  when  he 
wrote, 

With  loving  breath  of  all  the  winds, 
His  name  is  blown  about  the  world; 

and  Sumner  early  added  a  laiuxd  in  saying  "  His  poetry 
affords  succor  and  strength  to  bear  the  ills  of  life  " ; 
while  the  words  of  Underwood  came  as  offerings  of 
choicest  flow^ers  to  his  memory,  '''  His  powers  were 
rare,  his  sense  of  propoi'tion  and  melody  exquisite, 
his  perception  of  beauty  keen,  his  sympathy  bound- 
less," and,  elsewhere,  speaking  of  his  poetry,  "  the 
blossoms  of  every  garden  have  yielded  him  their  per- 
fumes, and  now  in  his  verse  we  have  the  aroma  dis- 
tilled from  lilies  and  roses."  His  classmate  Shepley 
contributed  a  lasting  forget-me-not  when,  w^riting  of 
his  appearance  before  his  class  in  1875,  he  said,  "  How 
did  w^e  exult  in  his  pure  character  and  spotless  repu- 
tation, with  what  delight  gaze  upon  his  intelligent  and 
benignant  countenance,  with  wdiat  moistening  eyes 
listen  to  his  words."  And  so  I  might  continue,  almost 
indefinitely,  enumerating   rare  blossoms,  plucked  from 


36  LONGFELLO  W  STA  TUE  ASSOCIA  TION. 

the  licld  of    universal  csteeiu  and  gniceriilly  oiicred  in 
never-fading  reinendjrance  of  him, 

whose  verse 
Was  tender,  musical  and  terse, 
The  inspiration,  the  delight, 
The  gleam,  the  glory,  the  swift  flight. 
Of  thonghts  so  sudden,  that  they  seem 
The  revelations  of  a  dream. 

But,  Mr.  President,  do  we  need  to  })ass  beyond  the 
sphere  of  our  own  consciousness  for  similar  attesta- 
tions? By  way  of  commonest  illustration,  who  of  us 
has  not  been  stirred  with  patriotic  feeling  in  reading 
Paul  Revere's  Ride,  or  The  Launching  of  the  Ship.  AVho 
has  not  been  filled  with  melancholy  regret  at  the  tragic 
fate  of  Hiawatha,  or  felt  the  romantic  side  of  his  na- 
ture rise  in  corresponding  exultation  at  the  final  re- 
ward of  Ser  Federigo,  the  self-denying  apostle  of  the 
gospel  that  ''all  things  come  round  to  him  who  waits." 
In  brief,  are  not  the  testimonies  universally  borne, 
finding  today  their  true  expression  in  this  memorial  of 
highest  esteem,  manifold  and  heartfelt  to  accredit, 

How  sweet  a  life  was  his,  how  sweet  a  death. 
Living  to  wing  with  mirth  the  weary  hours, 
^       Or,  with  romantic  tales  the  heart  to  cheer ; 
Dying  to  leave  a  memory  like  the  breath 
Of  summers  full  of  sunshine  and  of  showers, 
A  grief  and  gladness  in  the  atmosphere. 


UNVEILING  THE  STATUE.  ;^7 

But,  included  in  the  memorial  as  its  crown int^  ad- 
vantage, can  we  overlook  the  important  lesson  of  this 
admonishing  sculpture  ?  Is  it  not,  indeed,  expressed 
in  those  familiar  lines  of  the  poet's  immortal  Psalm  of 
Life,  wherein 

The  lives  of  great  men  all  remind  us 

of  the  possibility  and  duty  of  realizing  such  sublime 
personal  character  as  shall  impress  itself  upon  human 
events  in  indelible  marks  of  blessing.  And  consider- 
ing, then,  how  perfect  an  exemplification  of  this  ideal 
life  appears  in  the  history  of  Longfellow  himself,  who 
can  estimate  the  extent  of  the  benign  influence  ii])on 
succeeding  generations  of  the  silent,  yet  eloquent  pres- 
ence sitting  before  us.  To  doubt  its  mightiness  w*ould 
be  to  deny  the  fact  that 

When  a  great  man  dies 

For  years  beyond  our  ken, 
The  light  he  leaves  behind  him  lies 

Upon  the  paths  of  men. 

Yes,  glorious  the  truth  that  though  this  dead  bronze 
cannot  speak  with  audible  voice,  it  nevertheless  pos- 
sesses living  power  to  communicate  thought  and  ani- 
mate the  soul.  Hereafter,  around  its  impressive  form, 
innocent  childhood  shall  cease  from  play  to  learn  its 
absorbing  story  ;  under  its  noble  inspiration,  the  aims 
of  youth  shall  mount  to  loftier  summits ;  middle  age 
shall,  from jts  helpful  'example,  gather  added  courage 


38  LONGFELLOW  STA  7  UE  ASSOC  I A  T/ON. 

to  endure  life's  struggles ;  while  to  those  a))out  to  (He, 
the  vision  shall  l)e  eleared 

As  the  evening  twilight  fades  away, 
To  behold  the  stars  invisible  by  day. 

Welcome,  then,  0  Statue,  to  this,  thine  appropriate 
home.  For  ages  endure  here  beneath  favoring  sky, 
shielded  by  the  faithful  care  of  loving  hearts ;  ever 
recognized  as  an  artistic  triumph  of  native  talent, 
ever  cherished  as  a  true  exponent  of  patriotism,  phi- 
lanthropy, charity  and  faith,  ever  venerated  as  a 
sublime  guide  in  human  conduct,  unerringly  pointing 
the  way  along  the  ages. 

Act,  act  in  the  living  present, 
Heart  within  and  God  o'erhead. 


UNVEILING  THE  STATUE.  39 


POEM 

BY    MRS,    E.    CAVAZZA. 

Today,  our  Poet  sliall  be  all  our  own  ! 

His  native  city  claims  the  right  today, 
Holding  his  memory  to  her  heart  alone, 
To  set  his  image  as  upon  a  throne 

And  speak  the  praise  of  him  as  best  she  may. 

Ah !  while  the  city  utters  benisons 

Upon  the  Poet  honored  by  acclaim 
Of  all  the  uations  —  let  her  dream,  this  once, 
Hers  only,  him  whose  likeness  stands  in  bronze. 

Memorial  of  her  love  and  of  his  fame, 

In  a  mid-place  between  the  sunrise  sea 

And  where  the  sunset  in  the  oak-wood,  caught 

Among  the  netted  boughs  of  tree  and  tree. 

Gleams,  as  in  days  when  to  futurity 

The  beckoning  branches  led  his  long,  long  thought. 

Here  was  his  earliest  home  ;  and  homes  are  here 

More  honorable  and  happy  for  his  sake 
Whose  household  songs  made  household  cares  more  dear. 
And  the  plain  hearth  an  altar-stone  appear, 

And  sacred  fire  amid  its  brands  awake. 


40  LONGFELLOW  STATUE  ASSOC/AT/OiV. 

Bards  there  have  been  who  struck  the  harp  of  war 

And  set  a  nation  trembling  with  the  strings  ; 
Poets  whose  passionate  fancy  Hew  afar 
A  rapid  flame,  as  some  bright  errant  star 

Across  the  ordered  heavens  on  tameless  wings. 

His  spirit  was  no  angel  armed  for  strife, 

Nor  meteor-like  —  but,  messenger  of  grace, 
Calmly  he  bore  his  sweet-toned  lyre  of  life. 
Passed  through  the  world  with  toil  and  tumult  rife, 
And  made  a  holy  music  in  the  place. 

His  mind  was  kin  to  Beauty  ;  and  he  sought  • 

Her  as  a  sister,  in  the  hemisphere 
Where  marvelous  works  reveal  the  centuries'  thought ; 

He  gathered  treasure,  and  the  best  he  brought 

To  build,  that  Beauty  might  inhabit  here. 

If  now  the  stem  of  Art  some  leafage  shows, 

While  Fancy's  bird  sings  from  the  dancing  spray 

To  charm  us ;  and  if,  like  a  wayside  rose. 

Poetry  blooms  along  the  path  of  prose 

And  drifts  its  petals  on  the  common  clay — 

For  this  we  owe  first  thanks  to  him  whose  hand 
Transplanted  to  the  newer  soil  these  flowers. 
Bearing  away  from  many  a  foreign  land 
Rose-leaf  and  I'ose  and  bud  on  the  green  wand. 
For  the  adoi'nment  and  the  joy  of  ours. 


UNVEILING   THE  STATUE.  41 

Nay,  lie  was  not  alone  a  citizen 

Of  this  our  sea-girt  town  that  gave  him  birth, 
Nor  of  his  later  home  —  wherever  men 
Know  his  pure  heart  and  his  poetic  pen, 

A  place  is  his  by  more  than  right  of  earth. 

And  there  amid  the  mighty  who  abide 

Within  Westminster  Abbey — they  who  sleep. 
Strong  lords  of  song  and  sword  laid  side  by  side 
Beneath  the  marbles  raised  to  power  and  pride — 
Our  Poet's  effigy  Fame  doth  well  to  keep. 

Yet,  if  his  spirit  sees  it,  not  less  dear 

It  may  be  to  him  that  in  his  own  town 
His  image  stands,  while  we  with  love  revere 
The  gentle  and  majestic  presence  here 

That  on  the  oak-wood's  leafy  dome  looks  down. 


